Vehicle luggage compartment structure

ABSTRACT

A vehicle luggage compartment structure includes a storage recess that is provided in a vehicle luggage compartment so as to store a spare tire, a lid that closes the storage recess, a rear panel that is provided so as to form a rear part of the storage recess, and a separate component that is detachably mounted substantially in the center of the rear panel on the side of the luggage compartment.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 5119 to JapanesePatent Application No. 2014-166175, filed Aug. 18, 2014, entitled“VEHICLE LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT STRUCTURE.” The contents of thisapplication are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle luggage compartmentstructure having a storage recess that stores a spare tire on a floorsurface in a luggage compartment in a vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Vehicles are conventionally provided with an emergency-use spare tirethat is used when a fitted tire becomes punctured. Examples of such aspare tire include a temporary tire smaller than the fitted tire and afull-size tire, such as that used in foreign countries, (hereinafterreferred to as “driving tire”) that has the same size as the fittedtire.

For example, a vehicle spare tire board fixation structure disclosed inJapanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication(JP-UM-A) No. 3-73277 is known as a structure that allows two types ofspare tire, namely, a temporary tire and a driving tire, to be stored ina vehicle.

Such a vehicle spare tire board fixation structure stores a spare tirein a spare tire storage recess (recessed area) provided in a floorsurface in a luggage compartment (trunk) and is closed off with a lid.When storing a small-sized temporary tire in the storage recess, the lidis placed on a horizontal supporting member provided above the storagerecess and is supported by a vertically adjustable bracket providedabove the storage recess.

In the case where a driving tire is stored in the storage recess, thedriving tire is wider than the temporary tire, causing the horizontalsupporting member to be raised up by the increment in width. For thisreason, when luggage is placed on the front part of the lid, the rearpart of the lid is raised. Such raising of the lid is prevented byholding the lid with the bracket that is moved upward and secured to theupper part of the storage recess with a winged screw.

The vehicle spare tire board fixation structure described in JP-UM-A No.3-73277, however, has a problem in that the bracket for locating the lidat upper and lower positions is disposed at a visible position above thestorage recess, which degrades the aesthetically pleasing appearance ofthe luggage compartment.

In addition, a winged screw is used to secure the bracket to a rear wallabove the storage recess in the luggage compartment, resulting in thescrew's head portion projecting from the rear wall, which raisesconcerns about contact of the head portion with luggage.

SUMMARY

The present application describes a vehicle luggage compartmentstructure that provides an aesthetically pleasing appearance when anyone of a temporary tire and a driving tire is housed and stored in astorage recess with an adjustable storage space for the tires havingdifferent sizes and the storage recess is closed off with a lid.

To solve the problem described above, the vehicle luggage compartmentstructure is a vehicle luggage compartment structure including a storagerecess that is provided in a vehicle luggage compartment so as to storea spare tire and a lid that closes the storage recess, in which a rearpanel is provided so as to form an upper part in the rear of the storagerecess. The rear panel has a first, main component that supports the lidin a first, upper position and a second, separate component that isdetachably mounted to the main component substantially in the center ofthe rear panel on a side of the vehicle luggage compartment. When theseparate component is mounted to the main component, it supports the lidin a second, lower position. In one embodiment, when the lid is in thefirst (higher) position, it provides a first (larger) storage space fora driving tire and the detachment of the separate component from themain component ensures a sufficient space for housing the driving tiretherein, and when the separate component is mounted and the lid is thesecond (lower) position, it provides a second (smaller) storage spacefor a temporary tire which is typically smaller than the driving tire.

with this arrangement, the vehicle luggage compartment structure, whenthe spare tire is stored in the storage recess, has a rear end of thespare tire disposed substantially in the center of the rear panel in theupper part at the rear of the storage recess in plain view. When theseparate component mounted substantially in the center of the rear panelon the side of the luggage compartment is removed, a space of theseparate component is added to a storage space in the storage recess,allowing a larger tire to be stored. As described above, the separatecomponent is attachable to and detachable from the rear panel andthereby can adjust a distance between the spare tire and the rear paneland perform the function of switching between the sizes of the sparetire to be stored in the storage recess. When a smaller spare tire isstored in the storage recess, the separate component is mounted on therear panel and covers a portion on which the separate component is to bemounted, thereby providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance with nodegradation in the appearance.

Preferably, the storage recess may have an upper support that supportsthe lid and a lower support that is disposed below the upper support soas to support the lid, in which the lid can be disposed at an upperposition supported by the upper support and at a lower positionsupported by the lower support.

with this arrangement, by causing a support to be switched between theupper and lower supports in the storage recess, the lid can be disposedat the upper position through the upper support and at the lowerposition through the lower support. Accordingly, when a narrower sparetire is stored, the lid is disposed at the lower position through thelower support, which produces an additional luggage space above thestorage recess, allowing more luggage to be effectively placed in theluggage. In contrast, when a wider spare tire is stored, the lid isdisposed at the upper position through the upper support, which gives aspace large enough to store the wider spare tire in the storage recess,enhancing the storage capability of the storage recess.

Preferably, the rear panel may have a cutout portion that is blocked bythe separate component mounted substantially in the center of the rearpanel on the side of the luggage compartment, rear lower supports thatare formed on the right and left sides of the cutout portion,respectively, so as to support the lid, and rear upper supports that areformed at a level higher than the rear lower support on the right andleft sides of the cutout portion in plain view, respectively, so as tosupport the lid.

With this arrangement, when a smaller spare tire is stored in thestorage recess, the lid can be supported by the rear lower support ofthe rear panel, thereby allowing the smaller spare tire to be disposedat the lower position to fit the height (tire width) of the smallerspare tire. In contrast, when a larger spare tire is stored in thestorage recess, the lid can be supported by the rear upper support ofthe rear panel, thereby allowing the larger spare tire to be disposed atthe upper position to fit the height (tire width) of the larger sparetire. The lid, when supported by the rear upper support, covers andhides the cutout portion and the rear lower supports from above, sincethe rear upper support is located higher than the rear lower supportsformed on the right and left sides of the cutout portion. Accordingly,the lid can make the cutout portion and the rear lower supportsinvisible to occupants or others, thereby improving the appearance ofthe storage recess. The vehicle luggage compartment structure accordingto the present application makes the luggage compartment aestheticallypleasing when any one of the temporary tire and the driving tire isstored in the storage recess and the storage recess is closed with thelid.

Preferably, the cutout portion may be formed so as to be depressedtoward the rear of a vehicle body and so as to consist of aconcave-shaped portion in plain view into which part of an outercircumference of the spare tire can be inserted.

With this arrangement, the cutout portion is formed so as to bedepressed toward the rear of a vehicle body and consist of aconcave-shaped portion in plain view into which part of an outercircumference of the spare tire can be inserted, which produces anadditional space large enough to allow the spare tire to be movedrearward by a distance of that space, thereby allowing a larger sparetire to be stored in the storage recess.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a luggage compartment in which a lid isdisposed at a lower position in a vehicle luggage compartment structureaccording to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a luggage compartment in which a lid isdisposed at an upper position in a vehicle luggage compartment structureaccording to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a storage recess in which alid is disposed at an upper position.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a rear end of a storagerecess in which a lid is disposed at an upper position.

FIG. 5 is a disassembled perspective view of a rear panel.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged rear view showing a center section of a rear panelas viewed from rear.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged perspective view of a separate component asviewed from front. FIG. 7B is an enlarged perspective view of a separatecomponent as viewed from rear.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle luggage compartment structure according to the presentapplication is described below with reference to the attached drawings.References to directions in the description that follows are based onthe front, rear, left, right, top, and bottom of a vehicle 1. A vehiclewidth direction is synonymous with a right-to-left/left-to-right(crosswise) direction.

[Vehicle]

Prior to description of the vehicle luggage compartment structureaccording to the present application, the vehicle 1 is described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The vehicle 1 is a motor vehicle, such as ahatchback, wagon, van, coupe, sedan, or SUV, having a compartment forloading luggage. The vehicle 1 has a luggage compartment 2 provided in arear section 1 a of the vehicle body, a door (not illustrated) thatopens and closes the luggage compartment 2, a door opening section 1 bwhere the door is disposed so as to be openable and closable, a storagerecess 3 that enables luggage to be stored in a floor surface 2 b of theluggage compartment 2, and a rear panel 5 disposed at the lower part ofthe door opening section 1 b. The vehicle 1 includes any type of vehiclethat has the luggage compartment 2, the storage recess 3, and the rearpanel 5.

The door opening section 1 b is an opening that is opened and closedwith, for example, a tailgate or a trunk lid (not illustrated) andthrough which luggage is put into the luggage compartment 2. The doorincludes any type of door that closes the door opening section 1 b. Thedoor includes a double door, a slide door, a laterally opening typehinged door, a flap type hinged door, and a trunk lid. The followingdescriptions use, as an example, a flap type hinged door that opens andcloses the door opening section 1 b of the luggage compartment 2.

[Luggage Compartment]

As shown in FIG. 2, the luggage compartment 2 is a luggage storage spacein the vehicle 1 in which a spare tire T can be stored in the storagerecess 3 that can be covered with a lid 4 and luggage can be placed onthe lid 4. The luggage compartment 2 is disposed between, for example, arear seat 6 and a tailgate (not illustrated). The luggage compartment 2is provided with the rear seat 6 disposed therebefore, the tailgate (notillustrated) disposed at the door opening section 1 b, luggagecompartment side walls 2 a provided on the right and left sides,respectively, the storage recess 3 provided in the floor surface 2 b,the lid 4 that closes the storage recess 3, the rear panel 5 provided atthe rear of the storage recess 3, a shelf support 7 provided in thefront of the storage recess 3, and a rear floor panel 8 (see FIG. 3)provided below an inner bottom surface 3 c of the storage recess 3. Inorder to place luggage in the luggage compartment 2, the storage recess3 is covered with the lid 4 and luggage is placed on the lid 4.

The rear seat 6 is provided with a seat back 6 a and a seat cushion 6 b.The seat back 6 a, when raised to an upright position, forms a partitionbetween the luggage compartment 2 and a passenger compartment. Thetailgate (not illustrated) is openable and closable, thereby allowingluggage to be put into and taken out from the luggage compartment 2. Theluggage compartment side walls 2 a are formed of a rear side trim thatforms an inner wall of the luggage compartment 2.

[Spare Tire]

The spare tire T shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a spare tire stored in thestorage recess 3 which acts as a temporary tire T1 for emergency use ora driving tire T2 of the same size as a factory-fitted tire mounted onthe vehicle 1. The temporary tire T1 shown in FIG. 1 is a tire that issmaller in width and outer diameter than the driving tire T2. Thedriving tire T2 is a full-size tire of a standard size for use in thevehicle 1 which acts as a spare tire or a factory-fitted tire that canbe removed from the vehicle 1 so that the tire may be replaced.

[Storage Recess]

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage recess 3 forms a tire storage space inwhich the spare tire T can be stored and is closed with the lid 4 withthe spare tire T stored therein under the floor. The storage recess 3consists of a concave-shaped space depressed downward from the floorsurface 2 b over a region from a front end to a rear end of the floorsurface 2 b in the luggage compartment 2. The storage recess 3 has anupper support 3 a that supports a front or rear end (side edge) of thelid 4 at an upper position, a lower support 3 b that is located belowthe upper support 3 a and supports a front or rear end (side edge) ofthe lid 4 at a lower position, the inner bottom surface 3 c on which thespare tire T is placed, an opening 3 d that is rectangular-shaped whenviewed from above, the rear panel 5 that forms a rear side of theopening 3 d, and the shelf support 7 that forms a front side of theopening 3 d. The storage recess 3 has a two-step structure allowing thelid 4 to be disposed at either of the upper position (a first positionthat defines a first, larger tire storage space underneath the lid) andthe lower position (a second position that defines a second, smallertire storage space underneath the lid).

The upper support 3 a supports the lid 4 at the upper position. Theupper support 3 a consists of a front upper support 7 b of the shelfsupport 7 and a rear upper support 5 b of the rear panel 5.

The lower support 3 b supports the lid 4 at the lower position. Thelower support 3 b consists of a front lower support 7 c of the shelfsupport 7, a rear lower support 5 c of the rear panel 5, and a lowersupport 52 f of a separate component 52.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the lid 4 is located at the lower position ofthe storage recess 3, the temporary tire T1 for disposition in thestorage recess 3 is placed on the inner bottom surface 3 c. Also, asshown in FIG. 2, when the lid 4 is located at the upper position of thestorage recess 3, the driving tire T2 is placed on the inner bottomsurface 3 c in the storage recess 3. The inner bottom surface 3 c isformed of, for example, a flat bottom surface formed at a bottommost endin the storage recess 3. The inner bottom surface 3 c may have anannular groove formed therein to fit the shape of the spare tire T,thereby preventing the laid-down spare tire T in place from sliding off.

The opening 3 d is an opening through which the spare tire T is put intoand taken out from the luggage compartment 2 and is rectangular-shapedwhen viewed from above. The opening 3 d is defined by an edge of thestorage recess 3 formed between the shelf support 7 and the rear panel 5when viewed from the side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front inner wall 3 e is a side wall formedin the front of the storage recess 3 and has the upper support 3 a andthe lower support 3 b formed at an upper part thereof and has the innerbottom surface 3 c formed at a lower part thereof. A rear inner wall 3 fis a side wall formed in the rear of the storage recess 3 and has therear upper support 5 b and the rear lower support 5 c formed at an upperpart thereof.

[Lid]

As shown in FIG. 3, the lid 4 is a flat plate member that acts as a lidfor closing the storage recess 3 and as a floor panel that forms thefloor surface 2 b of the storage compartment 2 on which luggage isplaced. The lid 4 is a member called a cargo board, a luggage board, ora floor board. The lid 4 is configured to be disposed at the upperposition supported by the upper support 3 a and at the lower positionsupported by the lower support 3 b. The lid 4 has a knob formed on itsupper surface at a rear end 4 b thereof, with which an occupant can openand close the lid 4.

[Rear Panel]

As shown in FIG. 1, the rear panel 5 is a member that forms an upperpart at the rear of the storage recess 3 and extends in the vehiclewidth direction along a lower part of the door opening section 1 b. Therear panel 5 consists mainly of a main rear panel 51 (a first component)and the separate component 52 (a second component) that is detachablymounted on the main rear panel 51.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main rear panel 51 of the rear panel 5 is aresin-made frame member that forms a lower opening edge of the dooropening section 1 b and extends in the vehicle width direction. The mainrear panel 51 has a separate component mounting portion 5 a, the rearupper support 5 b, the rear lower support 5 c, an upper surface 5 d, acutout portion 5 e, and locking holes 5 f, 5 g, and 5 h formed therein.

The separate component mounting portion 5 a is formed substantially inthe center of the rear panel 5 on the side of the luggage compartment 2and has the separate component 52 detachably mounted thereon. Theseparate component mounting portion 5 a, when viewed from above, isformed so as to be depressed toward the rear of the vehicle body andconsists of a concave portion into which a rearward portion of an outercircumference of the laid-down spare tire T can be inserted. Also, theseparate component mounting portion 5 a is formed in an inverted concaveshape (see FIG. 6), when viewed from front, and has the three lockingholes 5 f formed at an upper position and the locking holes 5 g, 5 hformed on each of right and left sides thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rear upper support 5 b supports the rearend 4 b of the lid 4 from below when the lid 4 is disposed at the upperposition of the storage recess 3. The rear upper support 5 b, whenviewed from above, is formed in a step-like shape at each of the rightand left sides of the separate component mounting portion 5 a (cutoutportion 5 e) in the rear panel 5. With this arrangement, the right andleft rear upper supports 5 b have a concave-groove shape formedtherebetween, when viewed from above and from the front, and have noseparate component mounting portion 5 a provided therebetween. The rearupper supports 5 b are formed in a step-like shape at a level lower bythe thickness of the lid 4 than an upper surface level of the frontupper support 7 b.

The rear lower support 5 c supports the rear end 4 b of the lid 4 whenthe lid 4 is disposed at the lower position of the storage recess 3. Therear lower support 5 c, when viewed from above, is formed in a step-likeshape at each of the right and left sides of the separate componentmounting portion 5 a (cutout portion 5 e) so as to be located in frontof the rear upper supports 5 b. The rear lower support 5 c is disposedon the rear inner wall 3 f in the storage recess 3 at the same height asthe front lower support 7 c so as to oppose the front lower support 7 c.As shown in FIG. 1, the right and left rear lower supports 5 c have aninclined section 5 i formed at a front end thereof along a rear end ofthe laid-down spare tire T. The inclined section 5 i becomes closer tothe rear of the vehicle body at a point closer to the center of the rearpanel 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface 5 d of the main rear panel 51forms a lower opening edge of the door opening section 1 b and is formedin its entirety like a substantially flat plate substantially at thesame height as the lid 4 disposed at the upper position. A striker (notillustrated) and a plate around the striker are provided in the middleof the upper surface 5 d.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main rear panel 51 has the cutout portion 5 eformed in a side wall thereof at a middle lower part close to theluggage compartment. The cutout portion 5 e is formed at an inner edgeof the separate component mounting portion 5 a and is blocked by theseparate component 52 that is mounted on the separate component mountingportion 5 a. The locking holes 5 f, 5 g, 5 h are rectangular-shapedholes which are formed in the separate component mounting portion 5 aand elastic locking pieces 52 a, 52 b, 52 c of the separate component 52are engaged with and disengaged from, respectively.

The separate component 52 is a blocking member for blocking the cutoutportion 5 e that is detachably mounted on the separate componentmounting portion 5 a provided on the side of the luggage compartment 2substantially in the center of the rear panel 5. The separate component52 is a resin-made plate member having elastic locking pieces 52 a, 52b, 52 c, a supporting piece 52 d, a step portion 52 e, and a lowersupport 52 f. The separate component 52 is attachable to and detachablefrom the main rear panel 51, thereby acting as an adjusting member thatcan adjust the distance between the spare tire T and the rear panel 5.In other words, the detachment of the separate component 52 from theseparate component mounting portion 5 a adds a space equivalent to theseparate component 52 to the distance between the spare tire T and therear panel 5, enabling the storage of a larger-diameter driving tire T2.In contrast, the attachment of the separate component 52 to the separatecomponent mounting portion 5 a reduces the distance between the sparetire T and the rear panel 5 by a space equivalent to the separatecomponent 52, which is suitable for storage of the temporary tire T1that is smaller in diameter than the driving tire T2.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the elastic locking pieces 52 a, 52 b, 52 care elastic pieces having locking pawls that are locked into open edgesof the locking holes 5 f, 5 g, 5 h, respectively. The separate component52 can be mounted on the separate component mounting portion 5 a bylocking the elastic locking pieces 52 a, 52 b, 52 c into the lockingholes 5 f, 5 g, 5 h.

As shown in FIG. 6, the elastic locking pieces 52 a are formed in themiddle and on the right and left sides on the rear upper part of theseparate component 52 so as to extend rearward and are locked into upperopening edges of the locking holes 5 f, respectively. The elasticlocking pieces 52 a have supporting pieces 52 d formed on the right andleft sides thereof. The elastic locking pieces 52 b are formed on theright and left sides of the separate component 52 and are engaged withand disengaged from the locking holes 5 g (see FIG. 6). The elasticlocking pieces 52 c are formed on the lower right and left ends of theseparate component 52 and are engaged with and disengaged from thelocking holes 5 h (see FIG. 6).

The step portion 52 e is a step-like surface that extends in the vehiclewidth direction and that is in a central portion of the separatecomponent 52 extending in the vehicle width direction. The step portion52 e is formed at a level slightly lower than an upper surface level ofthe lid 4 disposed at the upper position (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The stepportion 52 e performs the function of covering a gap between the lid 4and the main rear panel 51 when the lid 4 is disposed at the lowerposition. The lower support 52 f is a step-like surface extending in thevehicle width direction along the step portion 52 e. The lower support52 f is formed at a level equal to the level of the rear lower support 5c and supports the lid 4 disposed at the lower position together withthe right and left rear lower supports 5 c (see FIGS. 1 and 4).

[Shelf Support]

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shelf support 7 is a member that forms afront edge and a front upper wall of the storage recess 3 and extends inthe vehicle width direction above the front inner wall 3 e of thestorage recess 3. The shelf support 7 has a floor surface portion 7 aformed at an uppermost level in the shelf support 7, the front uppersupport 7 b formed below the floor surface portion 7 a, the front lowersupport 7 c formed below the front upper support 7 b, and a lidinsertion portion 7 d that is formed in front of the front lower support7 c and is substantially horizontal-tunnel-shaped in cross-sectionalview.

As shown in FIG. 2, the floor surface portion 7 a is a member that formsa front outer edge of the storage recess 3 as well as part of the floorsurface 2 b of the luggage compartment 2. The floor surface portion 7 ais a flat plate extending in the vehicle width direction. When the seatback 6 a of the rear seat 6 is folded forward onto the seat cushion 6 b,the floor surface portion 7 a is configured to become flush with anupper surface of the seat back 6 a and thereby increase the space in theluggage compartment 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front upper support 7 b supports a front end 4 aof the lid 4 when the lid 4 is disposed at the upper position in thestorage recess 3. The front upper support 7 b is a step-like memberformed above a front end of the opening 3 d and has a flat surface belowthe floor surface portion 7 a at a front end of the luggage compartment.The front upper support 7 b is formed in the shape of a number “7” whenviewed from the side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front lower support 7 c supports a front end 4 aof the lid 4 when the lid 4 is disposed at the lower position in thestorage recess 3. The front lower support 7 c is a flat step-like memberformed on the front inner wall 3 e so as to be located between the frontupper support 7 b and the inner bottom surface 3 c. The front lowersupport 7 c has the lid insertion portion 7 d in the front thereof intowhich the front end 4 a of the lid 4 is inserted whereby a rear end 4 bis turned about the front end 4 a to tilt up the lid 4.

[Rear Floor Panel]

A rear floor panel 8 is a flat metal plate member that forms the floorsurface 2 b of the rear section 1 a and is provided below the innerbottom surface 3 c of the storage recess 3 so as to be connected to thefloor in the passenger compartment.

[Effect]

An effect of the vehicle luggage compartment structure according to thepresent application is described below with reference to the attacheddrawings.

First, the storage of the smaller temporary tire T1 in the storagerecess 3 is described below. In this case, the lid 4 is released fromthe storage recess 3 and the separate component 52 is mounted on theseparate component mounting portion 5 a in the rear panel 5, as shown inFIG. 5. The separate component 52 can be mounted on the rear panel 5 ina single operation by locking the elastic locking pieces 52 a, 52 b, 52c and the supporting pieces 52 d into the locking holes 5 f, 5 g, 5 h.This causes the separate component 52 to cover the cutout portion 5 e ofthe rear panel 5, thereby substantially eliminating a distance betweenthe cutout portion 5 e and the lid 4. Accordingly, the appearance is notdegraded even if the cutout portion 5 e is present in the rear panel 5.

Then, the temporary tire T1 shown in FIG. 1 is laid down and stored inthe storage recess 3 with the lid 4 released. Since the temporary tireT1 is smaller in diameter and width than the driving tire T2 (see FIG.2), an uppermost part of the temporary tire T1 shown in FIG. 1 isdisposed below the lower support 3 b.

To cover the storage recess 3 with the lid 4, the front end 4 a of thelid 4 is inserted into the lid insertion portion 7 d and placed on thefront lower support 7 c. Then, the rear end 4 b of the lid 4 is placedon the rear lower support 5 c, resulting in the lid 4 being successfullydisposed at the lower position in the storage recess 3. This processcompletes the closure of the storage recess 3.

As described above, the lid 4 is disposed at the lower position in thestorage recess 3 shown in FIG. 1. When the lid 4 is disposed at thelower position, an upper part of the separate component mounting portion5 a is disposed above the lid 4 and is visible to an occupant, but theseparate component 52 blocks the separate component mounting portion 5 aand the cutout portion 5 e, thereby preventing the degradation of theappearance. The lid 4, when disposed at the lower position, produces anadditional space arising from being positioned at the lower position,resulting in an expanded storage space above the lid 4 in the luggagecompartment 2 which enables more luggage to be put on the lid 4.

Next, the storage of the driving tire T2 in the storage recess 3 isdescribed below. In this case, the lid 4 is released from the storagerecess 3 and the separate component 52 is removed from the separatecomponent mounting portion 5 a in the rear panel 5, as shown in FIG. 5.The removal of the separate portion 52 from the separate componentmounting portion 5 a in the rear panel 5 on the side of the luggagecompartment leads to a creation of an additional space equivalent to thethickness of the separate component 52 due to the absence of theseparate component 52 and the rear upper support 5 b, resulting in acut-out or depressed portion created in the rear panel 5 on the side ofthe luggage compartment 2.

To store in the storage recess 3 a spare driving tire T2 or a drivingtire T2 to be replaced by the temporary tire T1 taken out from thevehicle 1, the driving tire T2 shown in FIG. 2 is laid down and placedin the storage recess 3 with the lid 4 released. Being larger indiameter and width than the temporary tire T1, the driving tire T2 isdisposed at a level slightly lower than the upper support 3 a.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the driving tire T2 is put into thestorage recess 3, the rear panel 5 has the cutout portion 5 e or adepression extending rearward in plain view due to the removal of theseparate component 52 mounted in the rear panel 5. This arrangementproduces an additional space between the spare tire T and the rear panel5, allowing the storage of the driving tire T2 larger than the temporarytire T1. Accordingly, the driving tire T2 can be put into and taken outfrom the storage recess 3 with its rear end inserted into the separatecomponent mounting portion 5 a and the cutout portion 5 e which providean open space.

Consequently, when the driving tire T2 is stored, the separate componentmounting portion 5 a and the cutout portion 5 e provide room for housingpart of the driving tire T2, allowing the storage of a larger spare tireT in the storage recess 3. When the driving tire T2 is taken out fromthe storage recess 3, there is longitudinal margins in the cutoutportion 5 e into which the rear end of the driving tire T2 can beinserted. This allows the driving tire T2 to be moved rearward by thedistance equivalent to a longitudinal length of the separate component52, thereby allowing the tire to be tilted or moved backward andforward. With this arrangement, the driving tire T2 can be easily putinto or taken out from the storage recess 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the driving tire T2 is placed in the storagerecess 3 and the lid 4 is disposed at the upper position, the separatecomponent mounting portion 5 a and the cutout portion 5 e are locatedbelow the lid 4 and is hidden by the lid 4, making the appearance of therear panel 5 aesthetically pleasing.

The lid 4 disposed at the upper position has the front end 4 a placed atthe front upper support 7 b and has the rear end 4 b placed at the rearupper support 5 b (see FIG. 5). As a result, the lid 4 is horizontallydisposed so as to be substantially flush with the floor surface portion7 a and the upper surface 5 d of the rear panel 5. Due to the lid 4being flush with the upper surface 5 d of the rear panel 5, luggageplaced on the lid 4 needs not be raised high above the lid 4 from thefloor surface 2 b in the luggage compartment 2 in order to be unloaded,allowing luggage to be more easily loaded into and unloaded from theluggage compartment 2.

As described above, the vehicle luggage compartment structure accordingto the present application, when a larger driving tire T2 is put intothe storage recess 3 in the luggage compartment 2, can adjust a distancebetween the spare tire T and the rear panel 5 and a longitudinal spacein the storage recess 3 by detaching the separate component 52detachably mounted on the rear panel 5 depending on the size of thespare tire T. With this arrangement, the spare tire T for storage in thestorage recess 3, whether being a smaller temporary tire T1 or a drivingtire T2 larger than the temporary tire T1, can be accommodated withoutany modification to the rear panel 5.

[Modification]

Needless to say, the present application is typically described withreference to, but not limited to, the foregoing embodiment. Variousmodifications are conceivable within the scope of the presentapplication.

The vehicle 1 is a wagon type vehicle as an example in the foregoingembodiment, but, needless to say, a sedan type vehicle fitted with atrunk can be used.

The lid 4 is not limited to a resin-made lid, but may be a lid made ofmetal, wood, or combined metal and wood. Also, the lid 4 is not limitedto a flat plate-like member, but may be any member that can be placed onthe upper support 3 a and the lower support 3 b. For example, the lid 4may have a surface, a recess, and a projection that fit the shape ofluggage to be placed on the lid 4.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle luggage compartment structure provided with a tire storage space in a vehicle, comprising: a storage recess in which a spare tire is to be housed; a lid that closes the storage recess; and a rear panel that defines an upper, rear part of the storage recess, the rear panel comprising: a first component that supports the lid in a first position that defines a first storage space in the storage recess; and a second component that is detachably mounted to the rear panel substantially at a center of the rear panel on a side of the vehicle luggage compartment, the second component supporting the lid in a second position that defines a second storage space in the storage recess when the second component is mounted to the first component of the rear panel, the first storage space being larger than the second storage space.
 2. The vehicle luggage compartment structure according to claim 1, wherein the storage recess has an upper support that supports the lid in an upper position as the first position and a lower support that is disposed below the upper support so as to support the lid in a lower position as the second position which is lower than the upper position.
 3. The vehicle luggage compartment structure according to claim 2, wherein the rear panel has a longitudinal direction and comprises, a cutout portion formed substantially in a center in the longitudinal direction on the side of the luggage compartment and configured to mount thereto the second component, rear lower supports that are formed on a right and left sides of the cutout portion along the longitudinal direction, respectively, so as to support the lid in the second position, and rear upper supports that are formed on the right and left sides of the cutout portion along the longitudinal direction, respectively, so as to support the lid in the first position.
 4. The vehicle luggage compartment structure according to claim 3, wherein the cutout portion is formed so as to be recessed toward a rear side of a vehicle body, which forms an inwardly concaved portion that allows part of an outer circumference of the spare tire to be housed. 